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A day later and I'm in love with this EP (which, isn't it pretty much an album? I mean, it's longer than Ys and has more tracks, and that was considered an album). I think this, as a whole, is my favorite thing he's done, with the possible exception of Seven Swans. "From the Mouth of Gabriel," gives me goosebumps, and the added harmony vocal on "The Owl and the Tanager," makes it that much more chillingly beautiful. The latter, in particular, has one of the most gorgeous melodies of any song I can think of. I've even come to love "Heirloom," and, especially, "Enchanting Ghost." I still mostly hate "Djohariah," though, and could've done without the "classic rock" version of the title track.

Does anyone have any theories as to the meaning of "The Owl and the Tanager"? There's some very disturbing imagery that calls to mind a childhood relationship, maybe with a much older person (man?). For those who don't know, a tanager is any of a group of cardinal-sized woodland birds, usually very beautifully colored. There are four that breed in North America and winter in Central and South America, with the Scarlet Tanager, which breeds in the northeast quarter of the U.S., being the most familiar, and the one that Sufjan is probably referencing, being that he grew up in Michigan:

Does anyone have any theories as to the meaning of "The Owl and the Tanager"? There's some very disturbing imagery that calls to mind a childhood relationship, maybe with a much older person (man?). For those who don't know, a tanager is any of a group of cardinal-sized woodland birds, usually very beautifully colored. There are four that breed in North America and winter in Central and South America, with the Scarlet Tanager, which breeds in the northeast quarter of the U.S., being the most familiar, and the one that Sufjan is probably referencing, being that he grew up in Michigan:

I got the impression that it was about cycles of abuse. You hear the adult yelling "you little boy" and then the child turns around and abuses the bird. It's really haunting because of it, and very very sad.